[Sca-cooks] "Custard" Crust?

[Johnna Holloway]

I keep thinking that eventually Prospect Books might offer this topic as
one in their series of books devoted to foodstuffs. They've done trifles
and soups already.

Johnnae

Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius wrote:

> Also sprach Johnna Holloway:
>
>> Way back in the dark ages-- PPC did a series of articles
>> on bakewell tarts in PPC 2 and 5. I used those articles then
>> as a basis for my first Period Palate column in 1980..... I guess
>> a quarter century ago now. Given it was limited to one half page
>> because that was all the room that TI could spare, it didn't really
>> have the room to explore the subject in a thorough manner.
>> Alan Davidson mentions another association besides those dishes 
>> mentioned
>> by Master A. Caudles and possets both, Davidson notes, have virtually 
>> been custards.
>>
>> Johnnae
>
>
> I have the idea that if you look at every caudle recipe and every 
> posset recipe there ever was in the whole wide world since the 
> beginning of time, you may find that caudles and possets differ in 
> that caudles tend to be thickened with eggs and possets with grain. Or 
> I could be thinking of a very specific snapshot (say, November of 
> 1543) and forming a misimpression not supported by The Big Picture.
>
> But certainly there are a lot of custardy items in the genres you 
> mention. Not to mention stuff like zabaglione.
>
> Adamantius
>
>
>
>>
>> Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius wrote:
>>
>>> Also sprach Jessica Tiffin:
>>>
>>>> This is an interesting point. I've just done a research paper on 
>>>> custards, and actually none of the recipes I looked at call 
>>>> themselves "custards" until the late 16th century - they're egg 
>>>> flans, darioles, doucetes, flathonys, whatever. snipped
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Well, it seems fairly possible that at some point, presumably around 
>>> 1600, the standard filling for crustades, which almost always seems 
>>> to involve, in part, a liquid thickened with eggs or egg yolks, 
>>> became the main identifying characteristic of the dish, whereas 
>>> before, it might be said to be a pastry whose filling usually 
>>> contained eggs. snipped
>>>
>>> So maybe the concept of identity shift isn't as rare and surprising 
>>> as we might at first think...
>>>
>>> Adamantius
>>
>>
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>
>
>